Asking, How Did You Build That?

If you visit Florence, Italy, visiting the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as the Florence Cathedral or  Il Duomo, is a must. From its completion in 1436 until the advent of modern-era architecture, it was the biggest dome in the world. Even better, it’s completely self supported. All without the help of modern technology. How?

Filippo Brunelleschi, the designer and architect of Il Duomo, set out to answer that very question by starting in an obvious place: asking how the Pantheon’s dome was built. It was nearby in Rome and a grand structure. Unfortunately several factors in the Pantheon’s construction ruled out mimicking that design. Brunelleschi kept looking.

[bctt tweet=”When creating the iconic dome in Florence, Brunelleschi sought inspiration from others.” username=”jcasabona”]

He sought inspiration for the construction from other great minds like Neri di Fioravanti, who created an early design for the dome; eventually he used part of Neri’s design. See, before doing something that’s never been done, he asked others, “How did you built that?”

Learn from Others

That’s how the world works! There have been many discoveries in the history of the human race, all built off of previous discoveries. We wouldn’t have any modern electronics without the transistor. The transistor came evolutionarily from the thermionic triode. We learn from each other and our past work.

[bctt tweet=”We learn from each other and build on our past work.” username=”jcasabona”]

When setting out to do a new project, how often do you ask someone else what they did vs. trying to go it alone?

Most probably start by taking to the internet. There are lots of great tools for sharing and learning; Lynda.com, WP101, and WP in One Month are sites committed to teaching. CodePen.io and Github are websites where people can share code and show demos for others to play with. There’s social media, like Twitter, where we can ask questions for anyone to answer. But there’s something else that we can do.

Ask for help

Talk to people! The best thing you can do is talk to people, ask for advice, get feedback, and learn from those who’ve been there. Most people are willing to share what they have learned. How much longer would it have taken Brunelleschi if he didn’t use Neri’s design? Where would websites be if we all started from square one? What would WordPress look like if it weren’t open source?

[bctt tweet=”What would WordPress look like if it weren’t open source?” username=”jcasabona”]

When I decided to change course with WP in One Month, I talked to people in the space about what they are doing, what worked, and where I could fit in the grand scheme of things. I asked them how they built their sites – what tools and services they used. They were more than willing to share their knowledge. And that gave me a great idea for a new podcast.

[bctt tweet=”I spoke to great people, and got great ideas.” username=”jcasabona”]

How I Built It

Asking for help and learning from others is such a valuable and important aspect of our world. Sharing and telling stories is something I love to do. On How I Built It, I interview product owners and developers to see how they built specific products, from idea to execution. Each week a new guest will talk about his or her process, launching, and evolving the business over time. The first episode is August 23rd.

I’ve got a great lineup set for the next couple of months and I hope you’ll join me. You can head over to howibuilt.it to subscribe. I plan on learning a lot. I know you will too.

This was originally published in the WP in One Month newsletter. Sign up here. If you’re interested in sponsoring How I Built It, get in touch.